1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video and audio recording apparatus adapted to ensure a preferential recording area of a size, which is needed to record a recording-reserved broadcast program, on an information recording medium, and to record a broadcast program in an ensured preferential recording area according to a recording reservation.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a case where a recording-reservation of a desired broadcast program is performed, even when a user is absent at a moment at which the program is actually broadcasted, the desired program can be recorded. However, it is necessary therefor that a free area sufficient to record the broadcast program to be record is provided. Therefore, in a case where a free area is insufficient therefor, even when a recording reservation is made, reserved-recording is not performed. Thus, the following technique (hereunder referred to as a first related technique) has been proposed. That is, according to this technique, it can be designated which of automatic recording and normal recording is performed corresponding to each of set recording reservations. Also, this technique is adapted to ensure an exclusive recording area for automatic recording, which has a size sufficient to record a broadcast program that is longest in recording time among a plurality of broadcast programs for which automatic recording is designated, and to always record the broadcast programs, for which automatic recording is designated, in the exclusive recording area for automatic recording. That is, this technique is adapted so that the broadcast program set to be recorded by automatic recording is recorded in an overwrite mode in the preliminarily ensured exclusive recording area for automatic recording. Thus, even in a case where the recording of the broadcast program is performed over many times, a recording area can always be ensured. This prevents an occurrence of a situation in which reserved-recording of a broadcast program is not performed because there is no recording area sufficient for the program. Also, this prevents an occurrence of a situation in which recorded areas unnecessarily increase (see, for example, JP-A-2001-167491).
Also, the following technique (hereunder referred to as a second related technique) has been proposed. That is, according to this technique, necessary recording-capacity for recording a recording-reserved broadcast program is calculated. Then, the necessary recording area for recording the aforementioned program is ensured in units of continuous LBAs (logical block addressing) and physical sectors on a hard disk drive (HDD) until the recording is started. Then, in a state in which the necessary recording area for recording the aforementioned program is ensured, the recording is performed when a recording start time arrives. That is, “when the recording/storage of a video stream is started, a certain continuous recording area having a size of the program to be recorded is determined on a HDD, so that there is no necessity for searching for a free area by a file system every time when the recording is subsequently and actually performed. This can prevent reduction in recording-speed, which is due to an ordinary operation of the file system. Also, because the video stream is recorded in the certain continuous recording area, structural reduction in recording-speed, which is caused by a jumping movement of a recording head between discontinuous recording areas, can be prevented. Thus, an accessing speed at a recording operation, and at what is called a “time shift” operation of reproducing the same broadcast program by shifting reproduction start times can largely be improved (see, for instance, JP-A-2004-120477).”